This Firefly Time-Lapse Video Is Beautiful

A visit to a serene lake in Missouri kicked off an obsession with creating time-lapse images of fireflies

In April 2012, photographer Vincent Brady attended a birthday party for his mom, held at Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri. It was an especially warm year, and the fireflies were already out in full force. Inspired, he set his camera up and took an impromptu shot, allowing the shutter to remain open to create a time-lapse image.

Seeing the results—a splattering of dynamic gold glitter against a serene backdrop—Brady was hooked. "Really when you get to the point, is there anything cooler than firefly light reflecting in still-water?" he writes on his website. "These creatures are really cool. Fireflies just bless you with their presence, light up, make love, and call it a life."

The next summer, he returned with an arsenal of photographic equipment and spent several weeks capturing the insects' bright noctural dances. This video above was the result.